Fall Lyceum Series Presents Laura Pelon

Siloam Springs, Ark. (August 31, 2006) - John Brown University’s music department is pleased to present a unique concert by artist, Lauren Pelon, on Thursday, Sept. 14 at 7:30 p.m. in Jones Recital Hall in the Cathedral of the Ozarks on JBU’s main campus. The concert is free and open to the public.

Under the title, The Living Roots of Music, Pelon will perform music from the first to the 21st centuries on instruments such as lute, guitar, lute-guitar, lyre, recorders, synthesizers and electric wind instruments. During her performance, she also traces the story of music with stories about the development of instruments throughout history during her performances.

In addition to being an instrumentalist, Pelon is also a vocalist and her original songs and ancient ballads are appeal to audiences. A Michigan reviewer wrote, "Lauren Pelon is a showpiece by virtue of her beautiful, fervent voice and her extraordinary talents on an assortment of unusual, but authentic instruments."

Pelon studied the history of music and instrumentation in America and overseas. She has performed in St. Petersburg, Russia at the Russian Institute for the History of the Arts, the Conservatory of Music in Almaty, Kazakhstan and in concerts throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and China. In her most recent overseas tour, Pelon presented concerts in New Zealand and Australia, and gave the 18th Annual Gordon Anderson Memorial Lecture at the University of New England (New South Wales). She has also performed as a soloist with symphony orchestras and with Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion television production.

"I am fascinated by the interesting ways people of other cultures and different times have found to make music," says Pelon. "I especially enjoy doing these programs because they differ from ordinary concert performances. They offer not only an opportunity to listen to music, but also a way to think about how music has affected the lives of people all over the world - from ancient times to our own modern day."

Pelon’s current program melds her own original compositions with her arrangements of music from ancient Greece, medieval Europe, contemporary Africa and the Middle East.

For further information on this or other Lyceum concerts, call the JBU music department at 479-524-7154.

John Brown University is a private Christian university, ranked sixth by U.S. News & World Report in the Southern Region. JBU enrolls more than 1,900 students from 43 states and 40 countries. JBU is a member of Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.